I heard about this last week. Forgot to post about it till now. My bad. This is huge that they are going through with this, but it's not a complete shock to me. It's been hinted at for a while now. It was just a matter of getting everyone's schedule to match up to make this a reality.

I had heard mention of it...not sure where...I am excited. Ozzy's last album Scream I thought was 5 stars all the way...and I have not liked much of his solo stuff past the Rhoads and first Zakk record....

so Ozzy can still deliver big time...now can Sabbath WRITE is the other. Ozzy has a lot of people writing his solo work....regardless it works...and they picked some awesome stuff to put on Scream...and the producer is amazing....so Sabbath better get THEIR **** together.

Black Sabbath Reunion Tour no more: In the face of internal struggles, including guitarist Tony Iommi's cancer treatment and drummer Bill Ward's continuing contract dispute, the pioneering metal quartet have rebranded their upcoming reunion tour with a somewhat depressing "Ozzy and Friends" banner. According to a report from the Guardian, "and Friends" will include Iommi and Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, as well as Ozzy Osbourne/Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde and Slash (the latter of whom may be doing a little reuniting of his own with Guns N' Roses later this spring).

With the new deal, all world tour dates Black Sabbath had been planning have been replaced by a paltry 15-date run; five gigs were officially cancelled and now the only official Black Sabbath-billed date still on the books is the U.K.'s Download Festival, which runs June 8-10, and even that will be played sans Ward. Seriously, a tour called "Almost Black Sabbath Reunion Tour" might be less disappointing than another Ozzy-not-Sabbath-branded string of dates.

The band announced their plans to reunite in November for a new album, their first with original frontman Ozzy since 1978, due this fall on Vertigo/Universal, as well as the now-edited world tour. For the moment, however, who knows whether that fall release is still on, as Ward still refuses to join the band on tour at all; the drummer will only record with them when he receives a "signable" contract (and not, as he's said of previous iterations, "disrespectful"), and that hasn't happened yet (at least now we know who Ozzy consider his "Friends").

I lost all interest in this "reunion" as soon as Ward dropped out. Now, all this sounds like Sharon is trying to salvage this anyway possible to squeeze every last dime out of the fans pocket. I really don't like her at all. Even less after reading Off The Rails

Black Sabbath announced today that their new album will be coming out in June. Titled 13, the album features original Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, marking the Osbourne-fronted group's first studio album together since 1978's Never Say Die! Drummer Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine will be replacing Bill Ward, who dropped out of the Black Sabbath reunion projects in May.

Flashback: Black Sabbath Unleash 'War Pigs' in 1970

For their 19th album (and ninth with Osbourne), Black Sabbath will be returning to Vertigo, their original label. The album was mostly recorded in Los Angeles, with seven-time Grammy winner Rick Rubin producing. In a November interview, Iomi talked about Rubin's creative process. "He's just a vibe merchant, really. He vibes you up. He's not one who gets involved hands-on," Iommi said. "He leaves it to you to do it and he sort of says, 'Yeah, I like it,' you know, or, 'I don't like it.'"

The band will be heading to New Zealand, Australia and Japan to tour in advance of the album, with additional dates to come.

Black Sabbath is resisting the temptation — obvious though it may be — to simply repeat their own winning formula, as original members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne work to complete a long-hoped-for reunion album.

The trio, who co-founded Black Sabbath with departed drummer Bill Ward in 1969, took on the subject of fans’ heightened expectations about their forthcoming album ’13′ in a newly released video trailer for the album, which is due in June.

“If you try to live up to the expectations of the past album,” Butler admits, “then you just fail dismally.” Butler, Iommi and Osbourne haven’t recorded together since 1978′s ‘Never Say Die,’ an album that capped a run of eight studio albums together after Black Sabbath reconfigured heavy rock with its 1970 self-titled release. Ronnie James Dio subsequently took over as frontman (kicking off a long parade of lineup changes), while Osbourne started his own celebrated solo career.

Osbourne acknowledges the pressure to live up to their own legacy, saying: “This Black Sabbath album is quite possibly the most important album of my career.” But, at the same time, he echoes Butler’s sentiments about keeping things fresh.

“I want it to sound current,” Osbourne says in the video, “but yet still have that Sabbath vibe, ya know.”

C'mon... Ozzy... just shut-up. Being fat has nothing to do with this and most of us know it. You have other issues with Ward. You just sound like your punching air now.

Ozzy Osbourne says Black Sabbath drummer too fat to tour

Quote

Touring with a rock band is a workout every night, and if you're not in shape, you probably shouldn't hit the road. Which is one of the reasons founding Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward wasn't welcome on the heavy metal band's reunion tour, according to singer Ozzy Osbourne.

"I don't think he could have done the gig, to be honest," Osbourne told the New York Daily News prior to the band's performance in New Jersey over the weekend. "He's incredibly overweight. A drummer has to be in shape. He's already had two heart attacks. I don't want to be responsible for his life."

While Sabbath, whose self-titled debut album was released 43 years ago, is riding high at the moment — the band scored its first No. 1 album with "13" just recently — but apparently not every original member is welcome in its current incarnation. Ward left Sabbath in 1980 to get help with his drinking and played with them on and off throughout the next two decades, but in 1997 he was replaced, and said he learned he'd been excluded by watching MTV. Eventually the band had him back in the group until they split in 2005, but he did not play on "13."

Ward and the band have been at odds since shortly after Sabbath announced they were reforming in 2011; he wrote a 1,500 word letter about why he wouldn't participate in the reunion, and the band responded with a terse 45-word reply.

In late July, Ward said he had specific reasons for not wanting to play with the band this time around, and they seem to echo Osbourne's feelings. Though emphasis was put on being unable to agree on a contract, Ward admitted there was more going on later.

"I was offered a contract and I couldn't sign it," he told Guitar International. "I would never, ever show up for a commitment that I could not do physically. It was one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make. Because I absolutely and without question wanted to play."